NCAA® 2007 DIVISION III BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WEST REGION

GAME 10
#4 Texas-Dallas 6, #3 Texas Lutheran 3

TEXAS LUTHERAN RUNS OUT OF MAGIC; TEXAS-DALLAS ADVANCES

ORANGE, Calif. - Texas Lutheran may have won the American Southwest Conference championship last week, but the University of Texas at Dallas had the last laugh. The Comets eliminated their conference mates and ASC champs from the NCAA Division III Baseball West Region championships on Friday afternoon 6-3 at Hart Park.

Texas-Dallas (34-12) will face top-seeded Chapman at 7 p.m. on Friday night for a chance to face No. 2 Pacific Lutheran in the championship game on Saturday at noon. Chapman already defeated the Comets 7-6 on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs, who overcame four- and five-run ninth-inning deficits in each of their previous two games, trailed 5-0 in the eighth and rallied for three runs. Down 6-3 in the ninth, Texas Lutheran (37-10-1) brought the tying run to the plate with one out, but ran out of magic.

Playing its fourth game in three days, Texas-Dallas had the luxury of sending a seven-game winner to the mound and he performed well. Damion Chelakis (8-2) won his team-leading eighth game of the season, allowing just seven hits and two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings for the Comets. The lefty retired 16 of 17 batters (one walk) over the first two thirds of the game.

Texas-Dallas scored at least one run in the third through the sixth innings, including a solo home run from leadoff man Brett Rosen in the top of the fifth. It was Rosen's 10th home run of the season giving the Comets a 5-0 lead. Chase Whitehead went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs for the Comets.

Texas Lutheran, which had played in the West Region championship game each of the previous two years, were limited to just three hits in the first seven innings. Jacob Kaase led the team with three hits, while Joseph Brade provided two RBI in the Bulldogs' three-run eighth.

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Game stats available online:
/athletics/06-07/baseball/regionals/game10.htm